People at a public service agency. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Transforming administration management has become an urgent requirement for the digital transformation as the country faces the challenge of innovating governance methods, improving operational efficiency and enhancing the quality of services provided to citizens and businesses.

The digital age is bringing rapid development, with artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cloud computing and the internet of things (IoT) completely and quickly changing socio-economic operations.

State management can no longer rely on the traditional administration model that is heavily reliant on paperwork and linear processing, which is fragmented across sectors and levels.

According to Prof., Dr. Phạm Văn Đức, former vice president of the Việt Nam Academy of Social Sciences, digital transformation is a process of changing management thinking and operational methods for the State apparatus.

Technology is only a tool, but the decisive factor is whether management agencies are ready to change their approach, organisation and decision making, or not.

In recent years, the country has achieved progress in administrative reform and building an electronic Government towards a digital government.

Online public services have rapidly multiplied and expanded, with many services now digital, helping to save time and money for both people and businesses.

However, this process has exposed many shortcomings, especially timing gaps between technological renovation and management method reform.

A major challenge is that several management agencies are still operating with old-fashioned management thinking while applying new digital tools.

“If the reform only involves converting paper documents to electronic ones, but the processing procedures remain complex, fragmented and lacking interconnectedness, then the effectiveness of the reform will be very limited,” Đức said.

“In that case, digital transformation will not only fail to reduce the administrative burden, but may even create additional pressure on both citizens and officials."

In many localities, the implementation of online public services has met with many difficulties due to a lack of connection or integration of information between sectors and agencies.

Data is not yet fully shared between different bodies, leading to a situation where people and businesses have to declare the same information many times or provide documents that already exist in the systems of other State management agencies.

This is a clear manifestation of a fragmented management model, a legacy of traditional management practices.

Administrative reform is an important pillar in the State management modernisation process.

But amid the digital transformation, reforms should not stop at cutting down procedures or simplifying processes. They need to instead come up with the restructuring of the entire management system.

Many current legal regulations and business processes are not designed for digital platforms, which makes it difficult for agencies to implement modern systems, especially in data interoperability and process automation.

In many places, legal regulations still require paper documents alongside electronic documents, significantly reducing the benefits of the digital transformation.

“If we do not change the methods of organising authority and coordination among State management agencies, no matter how advanced the technology is, it will be difficult to achieve its full potential," Đức said.

Changing from procedure to data

A key requirement for changing the management model is to convert the approach from a 'procedure management' to a 'data-based administration' system.

In the new model, data doesn't just serve for storage purposes – it becomes a strategic resource for analysis, forecasting and decision making.

Việt Nam has begun to build national databases on population, land, businesses, insurance and others. However, the main challenge is how to effectively connect, share and use these databases in socio-economic management.

Đức said that changing the management method would require a change of management culture in the public sector.

From being accustomed to handling work based on experience and paper records, staff need to be equipped with the capacity to work with data, make decisions based on scientific analysis and demonstrate greater transparency and accountability, according to Đức.

Another challenge is that administrative reform in the digital environment needs to restructure the State apparatus towards a lean, flexible and interconnected system.

However, this is a complex process, directly involving the organisation, personnel and interests of many stakeholders.

In practice, many agencies remain hesitant to embrace change, fearing disruption to their organisational structure or the emergence of management risks. This leads to a 'safety first' mentality, resulting in a cautious and less decisive approach to digital transformation. Consequently, digital platforms are invested in but not fully utilised, or even abandoned after a period of time.

According to the professor, if digital transformation is not linked to administrative reform and innovation in operating mechanisms, it will be difficult to achieve the set goals.

"Transforming the management model is not just a technical matter, but a profound institutional reform requiring political will and social consensus," he said.

Personnel capability

Another key factor in transforming the management model and reforming the public administration is the quality of workers in the public sector.

In the digital age, officials and civil servants not only need to understand the law, but must possess digital skills, innovative thinking and the ability to adapt quickly to new technologies.

Officials in many localities are still hesitant to implement digital management systems, leading to a reluctance to change or even an avoidance of technology.

This reduces the effectiveness of administrative reform and affects public trust in online public services.

Aside from the human factor, institutional frameworks also play a decisive role in the transformation of the governance model.

Many experts believe that the current legal system has not yet kept pace with the requirements of digital governance, especially in issues related to data sharing, information security and accountability.

Without a clear legal framework, agencies will be hesitant to connect and utilise databases, thereby limiting the effectiveness of administrative reform.

If Việt Nam effectively leverages the digital transformation to restructure its administrative apparatus, innovate governance methods and improve the quality of service to its citizens, it could narrow the gap with more advanced countries, Đức said. VNS